The Memory of Time
by DearDaphne28
Summary: Albus and Scorpius begin their sixth year at Hogwarts, while the newest dark force in the wizarding world threatens to overwhelm the hope restored with Voldemort's defeat. Walking in the footsteps of their fathers, the two boys must look to the past to restore the world they know. Yet all the while the ultimate solution may lie deep within themselves.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Hogwarts Expressions

The whistle sounded on the Hogwarts Express and Albus Potter heaved a sigh of resignation, leaning his head against the cool glass of the window and bringing his knees up to his chest. He was relieved to be returning to Hogwarts after a long summer cooped up with his siblings, the whole family barely leaving the house except to buy books and school supplies for the coming term. But this would be a strange year at Hogwarts, no doubt about that.

After all, this would be the first year since its founding without a single witch in attendance.

"Al?" Albus felt a friendly shake to his shoulder, pulling him out of his reverie as the train started moving. "Al, are you all right?"

Albus unfolded his legs and turned to his right to see his best mate creasing his brow and looking genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, fine...it's nothing." Albus scrubbed his hands over his face, shaking his head a bit to return to the present. "It's just...blimey. This is going to be the weirdest year ever, isn't it?"

The blonde gave a tiny smirk. "Well I'm not quite sure I'd say _ever_. Our parents did go through an awful lot in their teenage years, after all."

"Yeah, no need to remind me." Albus sighed. "I remember that every time I look in the mirror."

The fact that Albus, at sixteen years old, was basically the spitting image of his father at the same age hardly went unnoticed. Of course Al was a bit taller and didn't wear glasses, but he had those same green eyes and that same unruly dark hair, a similar build, thin and athletic...all that was missing was the lightning bolt scar. That was exactly why Al never told his dad about his tattoo. If he ever informed his father that he had willingly put a permanent mark on his flesh, he was pretty sure he'd get cursed into next Tuesday.

Scorpius Malfoy on the other hand looked very little like his father. His features were softer, much more like his mother's. He was taller and slightly broader with piercing silver-gray eyes that let him silence someone with a look, if he chose to do so. And after being forced to wear slicked back chin-length hair for two years at Hogwarts, he finally rebelled and cut it short - much to the chagrin of his mother, and much to the delight of the Hogwarts witches.

Scorpius put a hand on his best friend's shoulder and leaned in close, almost whispering, concern in his eyes once again. "Al, I know you're not your father. Just like you know perfectly well that I am not mine." He gave a firm squeeze to Albus's shoulder. "Whatever comes this year, we are in this together. We're friends, yeah? We help each other out. Whatever it takes."

Green eyes met silver and Al felt his worries suddenly melt away. Scorpius had that effect on him. The blonde could be as cold or as pompous as he liked with everyone else, but when it came to Al he had a major soft spot, and Al would always appreciate that.

He let the hint of a smile come into his eyes as he grabbed the blonde's shoulder in solidarity and nodded. "Whatever it takes."

"Oi!" Rich called out playfully. "What are you two whispering about over there? Al shagging someone new?" He smirked and gave Al a wink. The sandy-haired ladies' man was only ever interested in one thing...and he was always the first one to admit it.

Al rolled his eyes. "Just discussing how odd this year is going to be with no women around. I would think you'd be in tears right about now, seeing as the only class you've ever cared about is Wooing Witches 101." He gave a sidelong look to Scorpius who stifled a laugh at his friend's typically terrible joke.

"Erm I think Rich is well beyond 101 at this point, don't you?" Rion chimed in from the corner of the car, in his lilting Irish accent. Realizing what he'd said, he blushed and began playing with the light brown hair that hung down around his deep blue eyes. The quietest of the group, Rion was the only one who never really talked about his sexual experiences. Actually, they all wondered if he'd ever even had sex, though Rich was the only one who would ever come out and ask him when push came to shove.

"Well put, Mr. Agathos," Rich said with mock-nobility. "I thank you. And that said..." his honey-colored eyes sank with disappointment, "this year is going to be a total disaster."

"Hear, hear," joined Al.

Scorpius slung an arm around Al's shoulder, laughing knowingly. "Listen, it's going to be shite for all of us not getting laid for a year. But let's face it. If there were going to be a year _not_ to have sex, N.E.W.T. year would seem a pretty good time to me." Al couldn't help but chuckle in spite of himself, even as he slung the other boy's arm from around his shoulders and gave him a good shove toward the other side of the car. Scorpius would care more about N.E.W.T.s than the rest of them. He did have the top marks in their year after all, a fact that Albus was always extremely thankful for every time he had to write one of those dreadful History of Magic essays.

"You shouldn't laugh, Scorpius." Des looked up from his book opposite his two friends, a slight frown creasing his brow, his dark brown eyes filled with concern. "Some of us are actually taking the present situation quite seriously."

"He's right, you know." Rion looked across at the blonde hesitantly. He and Scorpius had never gotten on quite as well as the rest of their friend group. "Some of us do have siblings to worry about."

"Well sorry for being an only child." Scorpius eyed Rion icily, then turned back to Des. "And it's not that I'm not concerned, but let's be practical. How are we ever going to get through this year, no wait, this _week_ if we don't try and find some way to lighten this preposterously somber mood?"

"Well sorry for not having a sense of humor," Des retorted, returning to his book.

"That's odd. Your parents certainly did."

Des looked up. "And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Well they did name you Desmos."

Des shook his head of dark brown curly hair in disbelief and promptly threw his book across at the blonde. "Erm, hello, Pot? Kettle. Very nice to meet you."

The other three boys in the car all had a laugh at Scorpius' expense while Scorpius looked daggers at Des before throwing his book right back at him. They were all used to it though. It came from being friends and roommates for the past five years. If one of them wasn't ragging on another about his name or his family, his quidditch skills or his latest snog, then they weren't living up to the true nature of their Slytherin name.

After the laughter died down, the five boys settled into a quiet stasis that would last them for the remainder of the trip. As always, Des sat in the corner by the window with a book, half-watching while Rion and Rich played Exploding Snap. Des could always tell when Rich was cheating, which was why they never played together. Rion could never tell, and so Rich was always eager to play with him. Rion announced that this time Rich was about to be "soundly beaten, so prepare for the worst." Des rolled his eyes and turned back to his book, _Philosophers of Ancient Greece: Wizards or Mere Muggle Wonders?_.

On the other side of the car, Albus and Scorpius sat next to each other leaning their heads back against the seat, Albus with his knees pulled up and arms hugged loosely around them, Scorpius with his legs stretched out in front and his arms crossed over his chest. And without looking at one another, they quietly talked. This had become their custom, ever since their first trip on the Hogwarts express when they'd awkwardly ended up sitting in the same car and had too much pride in their families' long-standing rivalry to look one another in the eye, even as they grudgingly discovered how much they had in common.

"So how bad was it?" Scorpius asked gently, all prior mocking set aside, a genuine tone of care lacing his words.

"It was...awful." Al cringed. "Beyond awful, actually. I've never been so frustrated and so scared and so bloody angry all at once and not even able to do anything about it." Al scrubbed his hands over his face again. "My mum's freaking out."

"Yeah, of course."

"You don't know the half of it. After that Pratchett girl got taken, she went absolutely mental. She moved us all to the Burrow for three weeks and..."

"Wait, what? Really, why didn't you tell me?"

"Mum made us swear not to write where we were. Afraid we'd reveal ourselves and set the big bad witch on us before she and Grandma Molly had the chance to plan their morbidly colorful revenge plot. As if a seriously dark witch couldn't figure out that we popped in for a while at my grandmum's…"

"So they haven't learned anything new then?" Scorpius wondered. "About Erichtho, I mean..."

"How the bloody hell would I know?" Al grumbled. "Every time they have a damn Furies meeting it's all top-secret this and need-to-know that _like I could do anything if I wanted to_ everyone knows men have no damn affect on her! But _no_ , no 'children' allowed. Like my father didn't save the whole bloody wizarding world when he was my age. Bet no one called him a 'child.'" Al exhaled in frustration. "So no. No 'insider' information on Erichtho and her bloody insane war on witches. I honestly think this summer was the last straw, though. I mean, forget about the students...is there even one female _teacher_ at Hogwarts who hasn't gone into hiding this year?"

"I hear McGonagall's sticking it out." Scorpius shook his head and scoffed. "Miracle she's still alive, that one. You know my father says she was old when _he_ was in school. How on earth she thinks she can stand up to the greatest dark force since Voldemort is beyond me. And one that's out for witches, no less! Bats. Absolutely bats."

"Yeah... She's great isn't she?"

"Brilliant. Bloody freaking brilliant. Part of me wants to see her in action, just so I could have the memory to cherish forever."

"And part of me wishes this was all over." Al mused sadly. "That we could just have our lives back again." He looked out the window, the feeling of resignation coming over him once more. "But I suppose that time has passed hasn't it?" On instinct, he turned to his right to look at Scorpius...only to find the blonde looking right back at him, silver-gray eyes peering into his own.

"Yeah." Scorpius nodded, staring sombrely into the eyes of his closest friend. "It's passed."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Out of Sorts

What remained of the student body sensed a change in Hogwarts upon stepping foot in the entrance hall. The portraits were unusually quiet, some speaking in hushed funereal tones, others indistinguishable from muggle portraits, aside from the occasional heavy sigh. As students trickled into the Great Hall for the welcome feast, a feeling of unease permeated the surroundings. Even the battered suits of armor carried an air of concern.

The fact that house tables were slightly less than half full did not help matters. Hogwarts felt empty, as though it had lost a part of itself. And really, it had.

A short line of first-years was queued in front of the professors' table and a nervous tremor went through them as Prof. McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on a small wooden stool. After a moment of tense silence, the hat's brim ripped wide open, and it began to sing:

 _There was a day when I was young_

 _(Not quite so old and battered)_

 _When four great wizards, equal, sat_

 _And sought what truly mattered._

" _I say that courage is the best!"_

 _Brave Gryffindor declaims._

 _But Slytherin says, "I prefer those_

 _With cunning in their aims."_

 _Fair Ravenclaw at length declares_

" _Intelligence wins out!"_

 _And Hufflepuff, "As equals we_

 _Are harder, thus, to rout."_

 _They pondered long and hard until_

 _At last it was decided,_

 _Since no consensus could be reached,_

 _The school would be divided._

 _The brave, they went to Gryffindor_

 _To prove their mettle ever;_

 _And to the house of Ravenclaw_

 _Went all those quick and clever;_

 _While Slytherin the pure of blood_

 _And ambitious did foster,_

 _Good Hufflepuff allowed all kinds,_

 _In equal, to her roster._

 _And so it was the founders four_

 _Divided what was shared,_

 _And in the process broke a bond_

 _That's yet to be repaired._

 _There was a time of fear and strife,_

 _(Though not so long ago)_

 _When close we came to being one,_

 _Against a common foe._

 _Remember well your parents' deeds_

 _And learn from their travails,_

 _For Hufflepuff did say it best:_

 _An equal team prevails!_

 _If what was lost should be restored,_

 _Consider this my song,_

 _For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,_

 _And I am never wrong._

The Hat fell silent. No one moved. One of the first-years looked close to tears. At the Slytherin table, Al and Scorpius shared a look of understanding. They had heard it said that often, in times of great danger for the school, the Sorting Hat would compose a song with a message of unity: stand together, or wish you had. However, the two boys had never heard such a song in their first five years at Hogwarts. Hearing it now made the current state of terror in the magical world all too real. Al felt a shiver go up his spine.

McGonagall rose in front of the silent student body and by way of a brief, stiff introduction began to make her way through the list of first-years to be sorted. The applause after each was muted. No one really breathed again until "Zanby, Gregory" had been sorted into Hufflepuff, and as an abundance of food appeared on each of the house tables the clinking of plates began to fill the previously oppressive silence.

Scorpius turned toward his four friends letting out an audible breath, "Well, that was cheery."

"It was strange, wasn't it?" Rion responded, digging into the tureen of mashed potatoes in front of him. "I mean, that's very unusual for the Hat, don't you think?"

"Actually," Al somberly replied, fork in midair, "My parents said it does that sometimes, you know, when the school is in great danger or something."

"Do you really think the _school_ is in danger?" asked Des, not touching his pea soup and looking genuinely concerned. "I mean, McGonagall and what, two other female teachers have stayed? And so far Erichtho has never directly attacked men..."

"Yeah but half our student body is out there..." Al reminded them as he gazed at the ceiling's reflection of the night sky. "Everyone's either hiding and waiting for something terrible to happen, or making plans to take action..."

"Yeah, and probably getting themselves killed in the process," Scorpius added darkly.

Al replaced his fork on the table. He was beginning to lose his appetite.

"What I don't understand," Rich chimed in through a mouthful of stew, "is why when the Hat's telling us to be all 'one school, one team, united lar-dee-dar'...it's basically just saying that Hufflepuff is the best and we should all just be like that lot!" He punctuated his words with his spoon, shaking his mop of sandy hair with disdain. "Sounds very elitist if you ask me."

Des promptly threw a biscuit in Rich's face, much to the amusement of the rest of the table.

"My, that's rich coming from a Slytherin," Rion chuckled.

"What?!" Rich scoffed, taking a mouthful of the biscuit he'd just been hit with, "all I'm saying is, I'm not ready to make it National Hug-A-Hufflepuff-Day anytime soon."

"Yeah, that's cause you're still sore about Daphne Whittaker turning you down," Rion retorted, still chuckling.

Rich threw his hands up in the air, sprinkling those nearby with bits of biscuit, shaking his head in bewilderment. "Only girl in the whole bloody school!"

The rest of dinner passed with the usual offering of ribald jokes and jabs at one another. Some of the darkness of the sorting ceremony had passed, and as the five friends made their way down to the dorm they had shared since first-year, it almost felt like old times.

Almost.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Ballad of Sexual Frustration

One week into term and the young wizards of Hogwarts were going fairly crazy. Everyone had realized that the school would be different without the female portion of the student body present, but no one had imagined quite how different.

One Saturday morning, Al stormed into the sixth-year dorms, brandishing a broomstick and looking downright frightening. Breathing heavily through his nose, he looked around wildly for someone - anyone - and found Scorpius lying on his bed in his pajamas with a book.

As Al began storming over, Scorpius, who was trying to get a head start on next week's reading, looked up at the half-mad figure that seemed to resemble his best mate bearing down on him. He took in the dark tousled hair, the sweat-soaked shirt, the expression of utter contempt, and quietly closed his book, preparing himself for what promised to be the first of many quidditch rants this year.

"They're all...bloody...hopeless!" Al threw his Cursor Nubis 5000 at Scorpius' feet and punched his clenched fists into the blonde's mattress. Scorpius propped himself on his left elbow and looked at his friend, smirking. "What happened this time?"

"I'll tell you what happened!" Al sprang back and started pacing, punctuating every word. "I lost every decent chaser I had. We're ruined! Ruined." Al perched himself on the edge of Scorpius' bed, his back to his friend, and put his head in his hands.

Scorpius moved behind him and deftly began to dig his fingers into Al's shoulders, loosening all the tension from the Seeker's muscles. Al slowly leaned his head back. "Ahhh bloody hell that feels good." He closed his eyes and let his friend remove some of the stress of that morning's practice. It had been the team's worst ever. And Al would know - he'd been on the team since his first year.

Scorpius, meanwhile, was used to this. Ever since Al had become captain of the Slytherin quidditch team last year, he would return from practice full of frustration and needing to unload on someone. Scorpius didn't care too much about quidditch, but he did find it amusing when Al was in such a rage. Something changed in him. His eyes were on fire and he seemed to pulse with both tension and passion in equal measure. It was truly a sight to behold.

Scorpius dug his thumbs into the knots around Al's shoulder blades, then worked his way up to the boy's upper back and neck, slowly, methodically, until he could feel his friend relax beneath him and begin to breathe normally. Scorpius smiled and then moved to the edge of the bed to sit next to Al.

"Cheer up there, mate," he finished, with a slap on Al's shoulder, bringing his green eyes open. Where before there was fire, a look of glassy contentment had taken its place. Scorpius leaned in, smiling. "Just think, it could be worse. After all, it could be me up there flying!" the blonde finished with a wink.

Al couldn't help but laugh. "Touche, my friend." His brow creased slightly once again. "But that doesn't change the fact that we're by far the worst Slytherin quidditch team in Hogwarts' history. I mean, really, what I am I expected to do without Gretchen, Elysia, and Rae? Not to mention Ainsley! I mean, sure Pike is a decent enough beater, don't get me wrong, but he doesn't have nearly the natural talent that she does..."

 _You can say that again_ , Scorpius thought. Ashlynn Ainsley was a Slytherin sixth-year (or at least, she would have been a sixth-year) who was not only an unbeatable beater, but was also hands-down one of the most beautiful girls at Hogwarts. Scorpius knew Ainsley on a rather more personal level as well. Even with her pick of the quidditch players, it seems she went for the bookish type after all…

"Oi! Where've you gone off to?" Al broke in, bringing Scorpius abruptly from his reverie and back to reality. The blonde would have had the decency to blush...if he weren't a Malfoy, that is. "Oh, you know, just...agreeing about Ainsley's...er...natural talent."

Al's eyes went wide. "Bloody hell...you didn't...?"

Scorpius just smirked at his friend.

"What?! How in the name of Merlin's...WHY didn't you ever tell me?" Al sat back, flabbergasted. "How on earth did this happen?"

Scorpius threw himself back onto his bed, lounging on his side. "What can I say, mate?" He smirked and gestured to his pajama-clad body. "It seems the witches just find this irresistible."

"Aw come off it," Al retorted, jumping up from the bed and promptly pulling off his shirt, throwing it on the floor. "Has she seen this?" Al gestured to his perfectly sculpted abs, and Scorpius had to admit, the man gave him a run for his money. While Scorpius was naturally lean and his body was certainly nothing to scoff at, Al really worked at his body, spending at least an hour every day on the pitch, and often going for long runs early in morning.

Scorpius moved to the edge of his bed and patted the spot next to him. "Mate, come sit down." Al moved next to the blonde and sat down heavily, his movements once again laced with frustration. "I know what the real problem is."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

Scorpius sighed and shook his head. "We're both horny as _fuck_."

Scorpius looked straight at Albus, dead serious, until he couldn't take it anymore and started to crack a smile.

Al couldn't hold out much longer, and soon the two boys had both flopped backwards onto the bed in stitches, feeling lighter than they'd felt in days. As the laughter subsided, Al broke through their revelry.

"All right, let's go then, best shag you ever had."

"Ha!" Scorpius rolled his eyes, "Yes _this_ will be extremely helpful..."

"C'mon then, let's have it! Right, I'll go first. Hmmm...definitely..." Al looked slyly over at Scorpius, "...definitely Daphne Whittaker."

"What?!" Scorpius gasped. "Merlin Al, does Rich know?!"

"No...and he _never will_ ," Al warned, after catching the unmistakable glint in Scorpius' eye. "I'm trusting you with this, Scorpius." Al chuckled to himself. "I practically spit out my trifle during the welcome feast when Rion made that crack."

"Wow..." Scorpius laughed in disbelief, "one up on Rich...well done, you."

"Thanks," Albus smiled. "Now your turn. Spill it."

Scorpius got a devilish look in his eye. "Well, I dunno...I mean, your sister wasn't half bad..."

"Oi!" Al reached over to punch the blonde hard in the shoulder, but Scorpius moved out of the way just in time, laughing, that glint back in his eye. "Don't kid! That's not funny, mate."

"All right, all right! Keep your socks on." The laughter subsided and the two lay in silence again.

"Well?"

"Well. Let's see. Ainsley was actually a bit of a disappointment. Don't get me wrong!" he said, upon seeing Al's look of astonishment, "she is every bit as incredible as you might imagine, but just...well, she's...not very into foreplay."

"Interesting," said Al, locking his green eyes on the ceiling. "So you're a foreplay kind of guy."

"Oh please, and you're not?"

"I'm just saying! It's...interesting."

"Right. _Fine._ Whatever. _Anyway_ , my best shag wasn't...even really...a shag."

"Well, what was it then?"

"You know..."

Al looked pointedly at his friend. "No. I don't. That's why I'm asking."

Scorpius rolled his silver eyes. "Right, well, I don't know, I suppose one day I was in the library working on some endless potions essay or other..."

"Yeah, go on..."

"And, I suppose it was getting pretty late, not too many people still around and all that..."

"Yes..."

"And, erm, well this girl comes up to me out of nowhere, taps me on the shoulder, and I look up and she smiles, and then she asks me what my favorite genre is."

"Wow. That's extremely raunchy, Scorp."

"Well, hang on, let me finish!" Scorpius shifted on the bed slightly and looked up at the ceiling, falling into the memory. "So she asks me, what's my favorite genre? And I say, well, I guess, erm, historical fiction? And she says, wonderful, follow me. And she smiles again and she's got this glint in her eye, and I really have no idea what to expect. So then she grabs my hand and leads me over to the back corner of the library, with all the historical fiction titles, and then she asks me if I have a favorite title, and so I tell her it's _Gellert der Unschuldige_ , you know, that one with the story of what Grindelwald's life might have been like when he was our age, and, well anyway, she finds it and pulls it from the shelf, and tells me to read it to her. And she says, 'whatever you do, do not stop reading.' And so I start reading aloud in German to her, and all of a sudden I feel her hands slide inside my robes, and then she's unbuttoning my trousers, and I'm still trying to read the German now mind you, and then I feel her fingers against my skin, teasing just above...and then she kisses me, there...and takes my zipper in her teeth...and drags down my trousers, just enough...and I feel her breath on me...and I stop reading for a moment...and when I stop, she stops...but I don't want her to stop...so I keeping reading...and she keeps going. And she starts using her tongue...and her lips...and her mouth...and then her hand and her mouth...and I keep reading and reading and reading until I can't take it anymore and...yeah. Best orgasm of my life."

Both boys stared at the ceiling in silence, trying to ignore the obvious hard-ons they were both now stuck with. Al coughed awkwardly, breaking the silence "So, erm, what...what happened then?"

Scorpius tried to keep his breathing even. "Well," he swallowed hard, "she stands up, and licks her lips, and then smiles at me. And I can't even think. And all I can say is... 'what if I had said...reference books?'" And she just smirks and says, 'then Madame Marron would have gotten a free show, now, wouldn't she?" And with that, she just smiled, turned...and left. And we've never spoken since. I don't even know her name."

Silence again. This time, Scorpius broke it.

"Sorry you asked?"

"Yep."

"Showers, then?"

"Absolutely."

And the two Slytherins hurried off to the showers to try and rid themselves of their unhappy reminders that, for the time being at least, their memories were all they had.


End file.
